


Claustrophobia

by pluie



Category: Hamilton-Miranda
Genre: Anxiety, Claustrophobia, James Madison mention, Panic Attacks, Poor Thomas, TJeffs and AHam are friends, The Author Regrets Everything, What Have I Done, emeny to friend, i have no regrets while also regretting everything, i literally joined today and am posting this okay bye, i went a bit overboard with the anxiety but oh well, this is my first story cut me some slack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 10:35:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7887940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pluie/pseuds/pluie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thomas Jefferson would rather be dangling from the Empire State Building than spending the weekend with Alexander Hamilton (against his will, mind you,) but there he is, spending the weekend with Hamilton. But, he's dreading it for more than the reason that it'll be Hamilton, he's just waiting for his claustrophobia to have a field day.</p><p>(this story is so bad but please read it lol)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you've made it this far, congrats. 
> 
> This is my first story, so hello, I'm Kenzie.  
> I'm literally posting this the day I've made this account so go easy on me.  
> I go a little overboard with the anxiety and stuff because I find it fun (? Not the right word,) so yeah, if you think it's a little much, I know, if you like it, expect more lol
> 
> (disregard the fact that Washington exists as a boss and a bridge is named after him?? sorry I love NYC and I was like oh well)
> 
> Okay have fun reADING

Thomas Jefferson was dreading this fact that he would spend the weekend with Hamilton. Now, it wasn't this fault. Washington has set the two of them up to drive to a political conference, and Thomas was, to put it lightly, absolutely horrified. Hamilton was too much to handle at work and that was only hours in a day, now he would be trapped with Hamilton for a whole 48 hours. Even more terrible still was the fact that they would be sharing a hotel room.

A personal anecdote about Thomas that he had never shared, not even with Madison, was something greatly troubling him. His claustrophobia. Elevators. Cars. Tunnels. Hotel rooms. Absolutely terrifying to him. Sent his already high anxiety through the roof and of course the one who would see it had to be Hamilton. He was eternally grateful that he wouldn't be sharing a car ride with him, Hamilton had scoffed at the question during lunch the other day. Thomas had gotten a hold on everything in recent years, having to drive an hour to a monthly political debate meeting upstate had gotten his car fear mostly out of the way.

Elevators had been a daily interference, so he quickly became more or less accustomed to them. Hotel rooms were still a slight issue, he usually kept away from them as much a possible, busying himself with things during the day when he found himself checked in. Tunnels though, tunnels were still a problem. A large problem. Thomas had added nearly another hour to his drive on multiple occasions to avoid tunnels and use a bridge.

Hell, coming and going from New York City was a pain because he always opted for the George Washington Bridge instead of the Lincoln or Holland Tunnels. It had been absolutely horrible when there had been an accident on the on ramp to the GWB and it had deterred traffic for a while. Thankfully Thomas had heard it on the radio and instead of facing a fear for twenty minutes at the absolute most, he took the Bayonne Bridge to Staten Island then the Verrazano to Brooklyn then skipped the 478 tunnel to take Brooklyn Bridge.

All of his 'overcoming fears' moments though, were tainted with the fact that I can handle being in a car for an hour but _any time after that I need to pull over every so often._ Sure he could ride a few elevators but _if I'm already anxious I'll always choose stairs._ The ever amazing I can stay in hotel rooms without having panic attacks anymore was also unfortunately _I can't handle more than four hours in the room awake and when I wake up I need to leave._ Thomas was done with it all and was beginning to worry just thinking about it.

He had even asked Washington to switch him with someone else, George had not budged. It was extremely embarrassing when Hamilton walked in mid-plead. But George insisted that 'having time with Hamilton may ease the tension and fighting between you too' and that he 'should try to work with him'. Thomas had gone back into his office and just sat there staring at his computer screen in dismay. He mildly wondered if he should pretend to be sick.

He thought about drafting an email to Washington but decided against it and as he packed up his stuff into his laptop bag, Hamilton knocked on the doorframe. Jefferson rolled his eyes and looked up at him. He had a smirk on his face, he leaned against the doorframe casually, a to-go cup of coffee in one of his hands held awkwardly in space because his arms were crossed.

"Oh, what do _you_ want?" Thomas asked, continuing to pack things away.

"Good evening to you too, Jefferson." Hamilton quipped sarcastically. Thomas rolled his eyes again. "I just wanted to let you know I'll pick you up at your apartment tomorrow around seven." Thomas nearly choked.

"What? No. I'm driving myself, remember?" He had stopped packing his things and faced Hamilton, reminding himself to stay composed. He barely noted that Hamilton wasn't even looking at him.

"Well, I had originally said that, but, my friend, Angelica, you know her, went off on me and told me to carpool and save the earth." He said, sounding bored, completely oblivious to the fact that Thomas was having an internal war with himself. "Yeah, I wasn't a fan, but she said if I didn't that she would snap my neck and I'm not taking my chances with her, Y 'know?" Thomas nodded inattentively, absently wondering why Hamilton was being so casual and not battling him.

"Okay then. Um.. I'll text you my address then.." Thomas trailed off kicking himself mentally for tripping up his words, he's supposed to be eloquent and fancy, not say 'um'. Hamilton didn't seem to notice anything, which was odd. The man was always keen to pick on him, so why turn a blind eye now?

"Okay." Hamilton smirked again. "Nice post it notes, Jefferson." Hamilton turned an walked out of his office laughing loudly, Thomas turned to face the bookshelf where he had been staring. Upon the wood were brightly colored post it notes. Upon them were things like: 'call James M ' 'return book to library' 'pick up stuff from grocery store' 'order gift off Amazon' 'refill prescription' 'hair appointment 5:00' and equally mildly embarrassing things that needed to be torn down.

Thomas's face grew hot as he fully realized that Hamilton had probably read every single one. He was a fast reader, after all. He grabbed at all of the post it noted and dropped the neon squares into the trash can. He left a few up, of course, like: 'grocery shopping' 'refill your prescription!' and 'catch up with angie'. He finished packing his laptop bag and went home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get started, they drive and stuff ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Panic attack in this chapter ooo oh no
> 
> (disregard the fact that Washington exists as a boss and a bridge is named after him?? sorry I love NYC and I was like oh well)

Jefferson hadn't sleep well. He had been awake pacing for most of the night, fell asleep briefly, and wen up very early. He had packed all of his things and forced down some toast with almost an hour to spare. His mind was buzzing. He was already feeling flighty and he hadn't even gotten in the car yet. He grabbed headphones and placed them next to his phone.

He was more than relieved when seven arrived and he loaded himself into Hamilton's car along with a laptop bag and backpack. Hamilton greeted him curtly and sipped on a coffee. There was silence as they creeped upon early morning weekend traffic. Thomas let his leg bounce up and down as he decided to look through his phone. But when he found he couldn't focus he locked forcefully.

"How long will the drive be?" Thomas asked, glancing at Hamilton. He shrugged.

"Maybe two and a half? Two, if we're lucky." Thomas winced and made a noise of acknowledgement. They sat in more silence other than an angry Hamilton causing him to lay on the horn and yell at a car in front of him. Thomas had stayed quiet and composed next to the simmering short man. More quiet until Thomas noticed a sign.

"Oh, turn right." He read the sign over and over. George Washington Bridge. Maybe he would be let off easy.

"What? No! Don't you read Jefferson?" Alexander scoffed. "No way in hell am I taking the GWB. They have roadwork on Saturday mornings until 8 am. And Sunday morning do traffic is horrible all day!" Thomas starred as they passed the sign. He noticed the tunnel opening in front of them and barely realized as Hamilton began to scream again:

"It's every other car you idiot! It's called merging! Five lanes into two! You imbecile!" Thomas tried to calm his breathing. They entered the tunnel and he locked his jaw, his hands clammy and he could see them shaking. He was glad he was holding his phone instead of digging his fingernails into his palm.

"So, inevitable small talk time. _How's your morning been?_ " Hamilton asked in an overly sweet and sarcastic tone. Thomas swallowed thickly. 

"F-Fine, thanks. You?" Thomas was mentally pleading that the lights on the ceiling of the tunnel would stay green signaling there was no accidents or interference with the traffic ahead.

"Fine." There was silence and Thomas was slightly thankful for the rush of tires amplified by the tunnel to hide the fact that he was borderline hyperventilating. He bit his lip and struggled to untangle his headphones and put them in his ears. He immediately began to play music to drown out the thoughts of the walls closing in and the air being cut off and the water seeping through between the tiles all around and flooding and a car in an accident on fire and filling the tunnel with smoke. So much smoke and water it was so endless and the oxygen wasn't there anymore.

Thomas took a wheezy deep breath as fast as he could and returned his jaw to locked and willed his hands to stop shaking. The car felt hotter than it was. He tried to concentrate on the music in his headphones but he couldn't concentrate. He couldn't only imagine what could happen in the walls came in and he was stuck with no air or the water seeping through or the smoke clouding up or all three at once with the walls closing in and water up to his neck and the air above was smoky.

"Damnit." He breathed out, yanking his headphones out, not caring that he had vocalized his distress. He sat there staring straight forward for a second before clamoring his body to the right and clicking his window down.

"Dude-" Hamilton cut himself off as he glanced over at Jefferson. As soon as Jefferson felt the rush of wind on his face he felt better, while he was still on the edge of freaking out, the air was infinitely comforting.

He ran his hand down his face as the tunnel ended and he kept his window down for a while until most of his panic had worn away. His hands were still clammy and still shacking slightly but he was mostly fine.

"Dude, what the hell just happened?" There was a mix of confusion and anger in Hamilton's voice. "Did you just have a fucking panic attack?" Thomas glanced at the short man beside him. He didn't respond immediately, slightly mortified about what had just happened.

"Yes." His voice was quiet and shakier than he expected. Even with one word he was taken aback.

"Holy crap." Hamilton said. "Holy crap." He repeated. "Shit. I'm sorry." Thomas took a deep breath and managed a shaky laugh.

"It's fine." Though he knows what he'll say:

"No it's not." Alexander still looked shocked. "Holy crap." He repeated again. "Do..do you wanna talk about it?" His voice went very high pitched, as if scared to ask. Jefferson has never heard Hamilton unsure.

"Um.." He didn't fancy the idea of telling his enemy something he's never told his best friend, but his best friend hasn't witnessed him have _a panic attack in his car._ "I'm..uh.. Claustrophobic." The word felt ugly on his tongue. Admitting a weakness to the man who so much wanted to verbally destroy him seemed like a bad idea.

"Shit, man." He said. "Sorry." There more silence until a smack as Hamilton face palms. "Man, is that why you wanted to take the GWB?" Thomas squirmed, having Hamilton's attention while it was not an essential war was odd.

"Yes." A simple one word answer. Then an exasperated sigh from the driver.

"Is that why you asked Washington to switch you?" Again a simple:

"Yes."

"Is that why you wanted to drive yourself?!" He exclaimed questioningly. Thomas doesn't reply for a moment.

"Yes." There is silence until Hamilton spoke quieter this time:

"You...you could have told me," He began. "I would have used the bridge."

"No, no, it's alright. I haven't exactly been in a tunnel in like, two years." Hamilton turned to look at Thomas who was staring straight out the windshield. "In a way it was good for me I guess."

"Two years?" He questioned.

"Er.. Maybe closer to three." Alexander made a noise of acknowledgement.

"Is there anything else I should know that, like, triggers it?" Thomas fidgeted again.

"Um." ' _How about literally everything on this trip?'_ "Uh.." He can't remember being so reluctant to talk about something.

"I mean, I just want to help and stuff." Thomas nodded and bit his lip.

"I-I'll be fine I think." He knows he probably won't be, not with his anxiety nipping at his toes incessantly. "I don't..don't want to burden this trip."

"It won't, I promise." Thomas wondered if Hamilton would use this as blackmail.

"Um, no, it's really fine. It'll be fine, if something is bothering me I'll tell you." He won't.

"Are you sure? I want to be able to help-" Thomas cut him off, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Elevators, cars, tunnels, hotel rooms, all the likes. Basically this whole trip, actually." He gives a sour laugh and opened his eyes again. "And I'm better now than I used to be but after what just happened I'm not sure what will happen."

He doesn't give Hamilton time to respond.

"But I'll be fine, this has has happened before and I've managed and it will be okay no matter what happens, it'll be fine. I'll be-" Hamilton cut him off.

"You're reassuring yourself."

"Yes. Yes, I am." He sighed, running a hand down his face.

"My psychiatrist said that reassuring yourself isn't dealing with the problem and that you should deal with the problem."

"Your psychiatrist?" Thomas questioned, leaving an elbow against the window. "Alexander Hamilton has a psychiatrist?" Hamilton was quiet and then let out a short laugh.

"Yes. I do, actually." He laughed again. "I suppose since you're opening up, I have to as well."

Thomas laughed at this, his hands were starting to stop shaking.

"Yeah. A therapist helps with just, general housekeeping my mind stuff. Stress and just talking about random stuff." Thomas nodded and gave a noncommittal:

"Yeah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked okay bye 
> 
> I don't know what to write okaY


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anxiety but no panic attack so that's good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I'm an idiot I tried to put the chapter in the chapter details whoOPS)
> 
> Whoops @ TJeffs I'm sorry for doing this

The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. They talked about all kinds of things, mostly steering away from mental health, and Thomas didn't want to admit it wasn't going quite as badly as he expected. He did have to get out and walk around near the two hour mark, but Hamilton said he needed to get gas so it ended up working out alright. They arrived at the hotel and checked in, taking their stuff to their room. They had half an hour until the conference that started at 10. Hamilton had attempted to make a situation better but more-or-less failed. Thomas had been standing near the lobby seating as Alexander got the keys.

"Thank you," He said as he was handed the keys. "Um, would you happen to have a stairwell?" The front desk clerk gave him a look. "My..my friend is claustrophobic?" He lady told him that the stairs had an alarm system hooked up to them. Hamilton almost disregarded this until Thomas threatened to break his laptop if he set off an alarm. They rode the elevator. They spent twenty minutes getting the layout of the hotel and the schedule of the meeting, then ten minutes getting their respective computer bags.

The two of them arrived in the large meeting room and claimed two chairs. Thomas discreetly turned on his audio recorder in his bag and took a small notepad and pencil out to jot notes down on. Hamilton did the same but with a yellow legal pad and a pen. They sat in preparation until the conference began, running from ten to twelve for the first installment and then two to five. Thomas was writing down the names of the politicians when they started closing the doors to the conference room.

He glanced back at the doors and bit his lip, the room was large and open, but there were so many people in it. He wiped his hand on his pant leg and redirected his attention to the front of the room. The conference was going well, the usual information and then the questions and calculated answers. Thomas was grateful when they broke for lunch. He was relieved to find that the doors had not been closed, well one had, but the other was left open enough for people to squeeze out quietly.

Hamilton and Jefferson retreated to their room, Thomas laid down on his bed, facing the ceiling. He was thankful that Hamilton hadn't started any debate between the two of them, he didn't know if he could handle not being able to storm off to his office alone. The break for lunch was surprisingly long, two hours, but that was because the only place everyone could get a good lunch was fifteen to twenty minutes away from the hotel.

After ten minutes of sitting in their hotel room, Alexander and Thomas set off towards the car and to get lunch. They arrived at a coffee shop type of store and ordered lunch, a chicken wrap for Alexander and a Caesar salad for Thomas. They both ordered a cup of coffee and then went on their way back to the conference. They sat back at their seats and waited for the next part, three hours with a fifteen minute break at the hour, to begin.

The first hour was as interesting as a political conference could be. A fifteen minute break at three o'clock let everyone into the lobby to stretch their legs. Then at 3:15 everything was rolling again. Thomas realized something was wrong at 3:45. He had fifteen minutes until the break, but his hands had grown clammy again. He focused on keeping his breathing even and didn't even really care as nearly everyone wrote something down on their notepad. This was why he got his recorder, he had a tendency to zone out in extremely long talks.

Five minutes were left until the break and Thomas's leg bounced impatiently. He needed to turn off the audio recorder so there wouldn't be fifteen minutes of silence but he couldn't turn it off early. He knew he wasn't _actually_ panicking but he felt close. And it was becoming harder to keep his breathing even and there felt like there was a lump in his throat and he felt trapped by the people around him and the walls and ceiling, so with four minutes left, he stood abruptly and strode out of the room, letting his audio recorder stay on.

He walked swiftly through the lobby and out the front doors. Down the sidewalk was a slightly more secluded area where there was a bench. He plopped himself down and put his head in his hands, resting his elbows on his legs, one of which was still bouncing furiously. He rubbed his hands up and down his face before placing his palms on his forehead with his fingers above his hair. He didn't really hear Alexander come out until he knelt down in front of him.

"Hey," He said quietly. "It's alright." Thomas smiled grimly.

"I know." He clenched his jaw and leaned back against the bench, stretching his arms out to lace behind his head. He stared at the sky, it was cloudy, his right leg was still springing up and down. He let out a dry laugh. "God, this is tiring."

Hamilton moved up to sit beside him, moving farther away when Thomas made a noise of discomfort and sent a glance his way. They sat their like that for a few more minutes, Thomas breathing deeply with his leg bouncing and his eyes closed and the feeling of his hands shaking beneath his head. Hamilton sat next to him quietly, which was rather out of character for him. The silence was broken by Alexander when he asked:

"What do you think set it off?"

"Huh?" Thomas said smartly, keeping his eyes closed.

"What do you think set this off?" He asked again.

"Oh. Um, not entirely sure." He said. "Wait. I'm not- I didn't have a panic attack I just.." He stopped to gather his thoughts. "I just.. I don't know exactly what..." He trailed off again. He kept quiet for a moment. "It wasn't that bad." He said finally, leaving forward like he had before, with his head in his hands and elbows on his knees, his leg stopped bouncing.

"Yeah, cause someone who just experienced anxiety that 'wasn't that bad'," He used air quotes. "Has to get up and leave a room to go sit by themselves." Thomas was quiet. "You don't have to go back to the last forty-five minutes if you don't want to."

"I kind of do Hamilton." He laughed sarcastically.

"No you don't." Hamilton said. "I saw your recorder, very smart, and if anyone asked you could say you didn't feel well." Thomas leaned up to sit normally and cross his arms across his chest.

"I could.." He was tempted, but he didn't like the idea of being in the hotel room. It was 4:05 and the conference ended for the day at 5:00. They would get dinner and then even more time in the hotel room. His a leg started to spring up and down again, an unconscious sign of anxiety. "But no. I came here with a job to do."

So at 4:15 the two of them walked back into the conference room and sat through another forty-five minutes. They returned to their room without a hitch, Thomas laid down like before, staring at the ceiling. Alexander was sitting on the edge of his bed, scrolling through his phone. Thomas took a deep breath and swallowed before he spoke:

"Thanks." He said. Hamilton looked up.

"For what?" He asked, setting his phone down. Thomas contemplated what he's thanking him for.

"For handling everything well." Then backtracked. "Except in the car, you were kinda freaked out, but once you calmed down." Hamilton laughed.

"You mean the anxiety and stuff?" He asked. Thomas nodded on the bed, he hadn't had wanted to say it out loud.

"Yeah." He said. "I'm also a little sorry for all of this." He moved to sit up, leaning on his elbows. "This wasn't exactly how I planned this weekend."

"No, no, it's fine." Alexander reassured him. "You'd do the same."

"Yeah, it's just.." He trailed off. "I haven't seen anyone about it for a long time so I couldn't take anything to help. And no one have ever seen it happen, just that one time in college with James when someone decided to lock me in a closet as a Halloween prank, the one time you were invited- and even then no one saw it because I left the party, actually, you saw me and you tried to argue with me about who knows what and I flipped out off. And then I had gotten all psyched up about it in the worst way possible so my anxiety was already high," He sat up fully now, he doesn't realize he's rambling. "And then the tunnel, I've avoided them for that reason and the conference room I don't even know what happened then and I'm low-key worried that something will happen tomorrow-"

"Don't worry." Hamilton cut him off. "Worrying will only make it worse, and if it does, it's fine." Thomas is quiet and then gave a weak smile.

"Thanks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter are you sad it's going to end or are you happy it's ending and the only reason your reading this is because a friend sent it to you or are you a chaotic neutral and could care less or more
> 
> Okay yeah bye


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> P P P Panic attack whOOPS 
> 
> I have no regrets while also regretting everything
> 
> I hope you like it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chaptER
> 
> I am relieved and sad because posting stuff is cool and it's still my first day
> 
> (8/27/16)

Thomas was right. It did happen again.

They had been lounging around in the hotel room before an extended check out at five as the conference had ran until one, but there was extra time for a question and answer session. Thomas and Alexander had set for the hotel room at one and not left since. Alexander had been scribbling down notes, sitting crisscrossed on his bed. Thomas _had_ been doing the same, writing an outline for an article when he couldn't seem to write anything anymore. He grew frustrated and paced the length of the hotel room until there wasn't enough room left in the space and he could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

He knew if he had been sitting down that he would have been bouncing his leg, as usual. His hands were tingling and _God_ , they were shaking at his sides and he couldn't seem to breath very well because a lump had formed in his throat. He swallowed hard, trying to count his breathing. He wiped his hands on his pants as they grew cold and clammy and tingly and shaky and.. and he didn't know what but he knew he needed to get out of there before the oxygen in the room ran out and the walls closed in on him. Hamilton noticed.

"Hey, woah, are you okay?" He received an instant reply.

"Nope." He said tersely. "Not at all."

So, he tore out the door and stood impatiently waiting for an elevator, painfully aware of the alarm system that would set off if he used the stairs. He crossed his arms and hugged himself. He heard Alexander approach him quickly, Thomas flinched and stepped away, to which Alexander backed up. He was glad that they got a free elevator. They entered it silently and when it stopped on a floor Alexander had told the people waiting off. ("Can't you see this man is having a panic attack?! Give him some space! Catch another elevator, assholes!")

Thomas strode across the lobby as quickly as his legs would carry him, leaving Alexander behind a few paces, and went out the doors. Thomas went towards the bench he had sat at before but stopped before sitting. He stood there, still hugging himself, and tapped his foot at a lightning speed. His breathing was slow and deep but in the worse ways and he watched as Alexander's feet approached his own.

This swift gait slowed upon coming close to him, and he took an uneasy step forward, then another and another until he was at arms length with Thomas. He slowly reached out and placed a hand on his arm, lightening his touch as Thomas twitched away. Hamilton felt his whole body quivering. Thomas gulped another breath and reached a hand out towards Hamilton and grabbing a fist full of his shirt when it was the first thing his hand touched, he stumbled toward and Hamilton's grip on his shoulder tightened.

"Woah there," He spoke quietly. Calmly. Respectively.

"S-Sorry-" He took another wheezing breath. "Unsteady." Alexander carefully guided him to sit on the bench. Thomas gripped the railing of the bench and left his other hand as a brace against the bench. He let out a choked sob. He wasn't crying, he didn't even feel like he needed to cry, he felt at a loss for control and he had felt like the world was going to close in and swallow him and kill him and apparently his body decided to let this out in a hiccup of dismay.

He seemed to be breathing out more than in. Quick inhalations with slightly longer exhales and he still didn't feel like he was breathing. Alexander kept a light hand on his arm, rubbing up and down until Thomas had regained his breath and his body wasn't shaking as bad and his hands had rubbed around his face a few times and his knee continued to bob but that was alright.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked lightly, Thomas hadn't changed his position, his hand still clamped on the handle and the other arm bracing against the bench causing him to lean forward. Thomas didn't speak for a moment.

"Better than I was." He said grimly, this time he moved to his previous position with head in his hands and elbows braces against his knees. He rubbed his eyes with his hands.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being completely calm and 10 being having a full blown panic attack, what would you rate your anxiety?" There was another silence.

"Maybe a 6?" His voice was strained, higher than usual. "Maybe a 6.5?" He shook his head. "Maybe a 7. I don't know. I'm not good at that kind of thing." Alexander just nodded.

"What do you think set this off?" Thomas sent him a sidewards glance.

"Um. I'd say being in the hotel room. For an extended period of time, I mean." Then Jefferson chuckled, looking back at the ground. "Why, Dr. Hamilton?" Hamilton let out a laugh.

"I don't know, just trying to gauge it with everything else." He said.

The two walked back to the hotel room, Thomas mostly alright, except for clammy, shaking hands, but it didn't bother him too much. They packed up their things and got in the car. Thomas put his headphones in and had fallen asleep only twenty minutes down the road. Hamilton was glad, he knew he hadn't slept well at the hotel and he guessed that since he had been dreading the weekend in the first place, he hadn't slept well then either.

He contemplated taking the tunnel back into the city, as it was faster, but decided against it in case Thomas woke up. He didn't. Hamilton pulled into the parking garage at 8:00. He reached over to Thomas and rest a hand on his arm, Thomas jerked awake and removed his headphones.

"Did I sleep the whole way home?" He asked.

"Yes, you did."

"How long was it?" Thomas rubbed his eyes.

"Three hours, we made horrible time." Thomas nodded absently. "You need to get some rest. Maybe tell Washington that you'll come in late or something." He shook his head.

"No, no. I'll-I'll be fine." He wrapped his headphones around his phone. "I also want to apologized for this weekend. I'm never this bad, I'm not sure what happened. I think it's a new record, two and a half anxiety attacks in two days. Anyway, right, thank you for handling it well and all and I'm sorry if it messed up your work and I'm sorry that it happened at all, I suppose-"

"It's fine." He reassured. "Go get some rest Thomas." Thomas didn't register that Alexander had called him by his first name until later that night, but he bid him farewell.

"Thanks. Night Alexander." He gathered his things and went up to his apartment. He unlocked his door and put his things out for the morning, like his laptop bag reorganized and his coffee pot primed and ready and he made sure he had clean laundry. He quickly showered and ate dinner, falling royally into his bed and snuggling under the covers. He checked his phone.

 _'Told Washington you had a rough weekend, says he expects to see you late morning. Your welcome.'_ He smiled and typed a reply.

' _Thanks Dr. Ham. See you tomorrow'_ He wrote, basically falling asleep. He put his phone down and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I have to finish my two page essay for summer reading that I had all summer to do that is due in one day and if I don't turn it in I'm kicked out of my class riGht
> 
> I hope you liked it :)) okay goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> Okay hello, you made it through the chapter nice
> 
> Thank you a lot for reading byee


End file.
